Dr Michael Stewart (MA, PhD) is a hydrologist and hydraulic modeller with over 25 years of consulting experience.

Michael has recently completed a number of water balance and water quality modelling studies for proposed developments at the EKATI Diamond Mine and has acted as a senior reviewer for hydrological and water quality inputs to EIA’s for major mining projects in Canada and Ireland. Prior to joining Kaya Consulting, Michael led the hydrological sciences team at Rescan Environmental Services Limited in Canada, where he was involved in around 20 EIA’s for mining projects primarily in Canada and Latin America. Michael has undertaken numerous 1D, 2D and 3D hydraulic, water quality and sediment transport modelling studies and he has experience of shoreline and wave assessments, as well as experience of the development of real-time flood warning systems. Michael worked for 2 years in Hydrerabad, India setting up a river and coastal flood warning system for 18 rivers in Andhra Pradesh. Michael has a PhD in landscape evolution modelling (geomorphology including erosion processes and sediment transport) and undertook 3 years of post-doctoral research developing 2-D river models. This work included 2-D floodplain hydraulics, sediment transport modelling and linkage with 3-D groundwater models.

Dr Sally Stewart (BSc, MSc, PhD, MCIWEM C.WEM) is a coastal and fluvial geomorphologist, with 22 years of consulting and research experience. Sally has been responsible for the Water Environment chapters for several EIAs for mixed use developments, wind farms and powerlines and has also been involved in numerous flood risk assessments and geomorphology studies. She is an experienced river and coastal geomorphologist who has advised on numerous river restoration and coastal development projects. Sally was the lead author of the East Lothian Shoreline Management Plan and the Skinflats Managed Re-alignment technical studies and has recently carried out coastal geomorphology assessments for the Kirkcaldy and Inverkeithing shorelines. Sally obtained a PhD for her work on the River Spey estuary in northern Scotland. Her research considered the effect of the interaction of river flows and shoreline sediment transport on the sediment budget of the Spey Estuary.

Callum Anderson (BEng) Callum is a civil engineer specialising in hydrology and hydraulic modelling. Currently, he is a technical director in the field of flood risk management, with over 11 years of professional experience both in the water industry and public sector. After completing a masters in flood risk management, Callum joined the strategic drainage department in Glasgow City Council as a graduate engineer. During his time at the council, Callum was responsible for developing and managing drainage policies as well as contributing to major flood risk projects. Callum was also responsible for consulting on the assessment of flood risk for planning applications. Over the last 10 years, Callum has been involved in over 300 flood modelling studies using 1D and 2D modelling and mapping techniques. Callum has gained a breadth of specialist technical knowledge in both coastal and fluvial hydraulic modelling. Callum has set up and calibrated several integrated 1D/2D river-floodplain models, including River Cree in Newton Stewart, River Almond in Almondbank and River Kelvin. Callum has also been involved in a number of coastal applications including modelling sediment transport processes using MIKE 21 software for a proposed dredging application at Rosyth Container Terminal. Callum is also knowledgeable with respect to environmental impact assessments and has contributed to the water chapters of environmental impact assessments. Callum is responsible for managing and delivering individual flood risk projects including key client engagement and management of financial budgets and project deadlines.

Dr Callum Pearson (BSc, MRes, PhD) is as a hydrologist/modeller and has re-joined Kaya Consulting after recently completing his PhD at Durham University. Through time spent in both academia and industry he has developed extensive experience in undertaking hydrological and modelling studies in both data-rich and data-poor environments.

At Kaya, Callum has been involved in numerous flood risk assessments and hydrological impact assessments for sites and rivers both in the UK and around the world. Callum has been involved in hydrological impact assessments and baseline studies for several mining sites located in the UK, Kenya and Finland. From a modelling perspective Callum has been involved in building complex 1D, 2D and linked hydrological models and detailed GIS analysis for flood risk assessments.

Callum’s PhD research involved the creation of an end-to-end modelling approach that assessed flood management solutions at both the landscape-scale (catchment-scale hydrological modelling) and local-scale (2D inundation modelling). The project also involved extensive overseas fieldwork in Nepal and engagement with local stakeholders. Callum graduated with a First-Class honours from the University of Glasgow in 2014. He then completed an MRes at Durham University exploring the potential to reduce flood risk through catchment-based land management techniques and interventions.

Dr Yusuf Kaya (BSc, PhD, CEng, MICE) is a chartered civil engineer by profession and is a well-known expert in mathematical modelling and flood risk management within the UK. Before forming Kaya Consulting Limited in 2004, Yusuf managed all modelling and flood risk assessment and management work for Babtie Group in Scotland. Yusuf has over 30 years of experience in mathematical modelling of rivers, estuaries and coastal waters. Modelling tools used vary from simple one-dimensional steady state to two- and three-dimensional dynamic models. These include Hec-RAS, Floodtide, Mike11, Mike21, Isis, Divast, Flofield/Dispol, CE-QUAL-W2, and Yusuf also has considerable experience in hydrological analysis using FEH methodologies and catchment modelling. He has also been involved in a number of coastal process and harbour siltation studies, many of which involved modelling of waves, currents, and sediment transport. His experience covers all types of flooding including fluvial, coastal, estuarine, overland (pluvial), and sewer. He has provided expert advice on flooding issues to a number of organisations and acted as expert witness at public inquiries.

Yusuf retired in late 2021 but remains with the company as a Senior Consultant providing expert advice and guidance.

Glen Perez-Livermore (MA (Hons), MSc, MCIWEM C.WEM) is a hydrologist & hydraulic modeller with over 7 years’ professional experience.

Glen is a graduate of the University of Dundee where he completed an MA (Hons) in Geography followed by an MSc in Catchment Hydrology & Management.

Glen has been involved in over 100 Flood Risk Assessments for sites across Scotland, the rest of the UK and Ireland. He has extensive experience of estimating river flows and developing hydraulic models of rivers using 1D and 2D techniques in Flood Modeller and HEC-RAS.

He also has experience leading the modelling for Flood Studies to support Flood Prevention Schemes. He has undertaken modelling for a number of river restoration projects including the realignment of watercourses, the removal of weirs and improvement works to bridges. Glen also has experience of modelling surface water flooding using rainfall—runoff modelling.

Glen has led a number of peat assessments for diverse projects such as wind farms, substations and rural residential development. He has also led the water component of Environmental Impact Assessments and Environmental Statements.

Natalie Robson (MEng, MSc, CEng) is a graduate of Strathclyde University where she completed a master’s in engineering. She worked in industry for a number of years before returning to complete a MSc in Water and Environmental Management with distinction at Herriot Watt University. Natalie joined Kaya Consulting in August 2017 and has led numerous flood risk management projects and modelling studies. Coupled with her engineering background, she has gained a wealth of experience in modelling in 1D and 2D in HEC-RAS and Flood Modeller, including flood mapping and using GIS. She is experienced in detailed hydrological analysis using a range of methodologies from IH124 to ReFH2 to the FEH Statistical Method, using software such as FEH-WINFAP. Now Kaya’s Senior Hydraulic Modeller and Flooding Engineer, she has developed into an expert flood modeller and has implemented a range of methods of hydrological monitoring in the UK and abroad and achieved Chartered Engineer (CEng) status in 2024.

Lee Ruddick (BSc, MSc) is a graduate modeller and hydrologist having recently finished his Masters degree in Hydrology and Water Management at the University of Newcastle where he specialised in flood risk management. Lee has been involved in a variety of projects at Kaya Consulting, predominately flood risk assessments and drainage strategies for housing, solar farms, and mining developments across the UK and elsewhere in Europe. Lee has experience with 1D, 2D and 1D-2D coupled hydraulic models, deriving design flows through hydrological analysis and modelling, GIS/Data manipulation and report writing.

Julian Scott (MA) is a hydrologist and environmental scientist in our team. After graduating from Dundee University in 2019 with a 1st class honours degree in Geography, Julian worked for Perth and Kinross Council’s flooding team and was actively involved in the council’s mitigation of and response to flood risk. Since joining Kaya Consulting in 2020, Julian has been involved in a range of work within the company, including flood modelling, peat survey work, field hydrometry and water quality analysis.

Cairns Harrison (BSc, MSc) is an environmental scientist and hydrologist with a Bachelors and Masters (by research) degree in Earth Sciences. Cairns has three years’ experience working with Kaya Consulting, during which time he has worked on a variety of projects. These projects have included undertaking numerous flood risk assessments (including 2D and 1D-2D flood modelling), extensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) fieldwork in remote locations for data collection on hydrology and peat, data collation and GIS analysis, EIA and Environmental Statement report writing, Low-Flows hydrology assessments (including for private water supplies) and groundwater assessments.  More recently Cairns has been managing the fieldwork components for several large energy infrastructure projects.

Cairns has undertaken specialist training, including training for identification of groundwater dependent terrestrial ecosystems. This has led to him undertaking several unique projects requiring the identification of groundwater sources supporting distinctive groundwater dependent ecosystems and assessing the impact of potential developments, ranging from solar/wind farms to forestry plantation, on these groundwater sources.

David Jalil (BSc, MSc) is a recent addition to Kaya Consulting. After achieving a 1^st class honours in BSc Chemistry from University College Cork, Ireland, David moved to Edinburgh in 2021 to begin a career in the environmental sector. He joined Kaya Consulting in 2023 while completing an MSc in Applied Environmental Hydrogeology from the University of Edinburgh. David’s MSc has given him a firm skillset in 1- and 2-D modelling, geographic information systems and water resource management. His MSc dissertation focused on natural flood management and carbon sequestration. While studying, he has worked with environmental consultancies and river trusts across Scotland to build a strong fieldwork background in sample collection, peat surveys and ecological surveys. Since joining Kaya Consulting, he has built on his modelling and report writing skills and is looking forward to further expanding his abilities in all aspects of the work carried out by the company.

Cathal Kelly (B.E. (Hons), CIEI) is a Civil Engineer with over 12 years’ professional experience in flood risk management, hydrology, and hydraulics. Cathal graduated from the National University of Ireland Galway in 2012 with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering (1st class honours). He became a Chartered member of Engineers Ireland in 2019.

Cathal has worked with a range of clients including National Bodies, Local Authorities and Private Developers taking projects from the initial feasibility stage through to construction.

Cathal has been involved in over 100 Flood Risk Assessments for sites across the United Kingdom and Ireland. He has extensive experience with the estimation of river flows and the modelling of rivers, estuaries, and direct rainfall-runoff using HEC-RAS, FloodModeller, and InfoWorks ICM.

He has also led the development of Flood Alleviation Schemes, the Design of Bridges and Culverts, Scour Assessment/Mitigation, and River Restoration works. 

Cathal is an advocate of using GIS to deliver projects efficiently and has provided QGIS training to a number of companies. Away from the office, Cathal enjoys spending time in the great outdoors Kayaking, Hiking and Climbing.

Maya (BSc) joined Kaya in January 2024 as a graduate environmental consultant with a BSc (Hons) in Ecological and Environmental Sciences from the University of Edinburgh. Through her degree, she built up a foundation in GIS, R programming and report writing. She worked together with the Nith Fisheries Trust for her dissertation, which looked at determining habitat preferences of juvenile salmonids. While studying, she gained experience of surveying peat, birds, butterflies and freshwater fish through consultancy work and volunteering for wildlife conservation charities. Since joining Kaya in January 2024, she has developed strong fieldwork and GIS skills, working on Environmental Impact Assessments and peat restoration projects.

Bronwyn Matthews (BSc, MSc, and nearly PhD) is a recent addition to Kaya Consulting. She has achieved a BSc in Geophysics and Geology from the University of Edinburgh, and a MSc in Renewable Energy and Environmental Modelling from the University of Dundee in which her dissertation looked at the hydropower potential in Scotland in the face of a changing climate. 

Following her MSc, she worked for a year as a Hydrologist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), focussing on drought monitoring in Thailand and flood monitoring in the UK. Following a year at UKCEH, Bronwyn went on to undertake a PhD in which she developed an innovative system using seismic and hydroacoustic methods to monitor the movement of bedload within rivers to aid in the understanding of channel evolution and ultimately flood risk. She has recently submitted her PhD thesis and is awaiting her result. 

Since joining Kaya Consulting, she has been undertaking hydrological modelling studies and geomorphological studies and is looking forward to developing her skills within all areas of work carried out within the company.